Image, Imagine, Photograph
by Darkness-Amani
Summary: A fanfiction placed in the future of the Naruto story. How can you close your eyes, Sakura, when they all haunt you still? [Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the writing itself.][SasuSaku, NaruSaku, KakaSaku][I know...I like mixed pairings.]
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Image  
****Author: Yours Truly  
****Published: October 6, 2005**

* * *

_10 years after the Chuunin Exam: Sakura's Future_

Sakura stood in front of Tsunade's desk. She shook her head, much to the hokage's dismay.

"Why not!" Tsunade slapped both hands down on her desk, and stood up to look at Sakura at eye level. "Sakura, you have refused promotion, missions, and orders to fight! Why the hell are you closing yourself off from the rest of the world?" Tsunade glared, and Sakura returned it with an empty stare.

"You should know…" she spoke softly.

* * *

Sasuke was a missing-nin. Ever since he had let Naruto charge suicidal into an attack that killed him, he'd become completely reserved, and had disappeared. One day, Kakashi came to see Sakura where she was working. Sakura looked up hopefully when she heard him enter.

"Lee-san? Have you gotten…" her voice trailed off as she saw her old sensei. She stood, and bowed slightly, not taking her eyes off him. "Kakashi-sama," she said, addressing his superiority to her. He looked at her with a remorseful look.

"I found him." He said. Sakura knew what her sensei was talking about. Kakashi had been assigned the mission to hunt down and kill Sasuke, specially, because of the knowledge he had, of the way his pupils thought. Sasuke was dead. Shock hit Sakura's body hard, and she started to shake.

"No," she stated. She was trembling now, and she sat down, her eyes still focused on Kakashi alone. "No!" She clenched her fists, and looked down, then shot a glare at Kakashi, full of disbelief and hatred. "You couldn't have! He was your student! Your friend! You always said he was like you, and you killed him so easily that you can simply…" She didn't finish her statement. Kakashi looked at her straight in the eyes, with a strict tone.

"You know as well as I do, that there was nothing left of him at all, anyways," he said. She looked down, and held her head in her hands, with her knees supporting her elbows. She still shook, and she spoke softly.

"I...know," she shuddered, "But you know as well…that I wanted to be the one to bring him back." Tears stained her features. She looked up. "Did...he?" Kakashi shook his head, though reluctantly.

"No. He neverspoke of you."

* * *

Sakura finally answered. "Because there's nothing to inspire me, to train or to battle, anymore, Hokage-sama." Tsunade knew what she was saying, and continued.

"Sakura-chan. Listen." She said in a kinder tone. "Sometimes you hesitate. Other times you run." Tsunade looked her straight in the eye. She noticed, that Sakura's eyes had no emotion anymore. She closed her eyes, then opened them again. "And sometimes, you close your eyes and jump, just to get on with life."

Sakura nodded, but her eyes shone with unshed tears. "Yes," she replied, "But what if his image is burned to the back of my eyelids." She turned, and went to the door. One hand on the wall, she stopped. "If I close my eyes, I'll only see what I fear to."

With that, she left the hokage's office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two  
Author: Moi **

Inspiration:I was staring outside, not really wanting to go to sleep. It was raining. I like the rain. But as I tooka look at the moon, it was a 3/4 moon, and it looked really amazingwith the rain kind of darkening it. It reminded me that I had work to do. --;;

* * *

Sakura walked down the hallways, from Tsunade's office. Whether or not she was the Hokage, she couldn't stop thinking of her as simply her old sensei. The same as Kakashi. Both of them were on her bad side right now. She looked up, and punched the door. It swung open.

"Damn you, Sasuke. Making my life so…twisted, even after you're dead." She hit her head against the door. "Now I wish that I had killed you…" she immediately regretted her words. She knew that she wouldn't have, for the world and his hand in marriage. But Kakashi had simply…done it. She thought about that, as she walked along the road. Her head down, her brow creased. There was something to think about here. Naruto died for Sasuke.

It had always been that way. Naruto would be pinned to the ground, wall, trees, etc. Sasuke and Naruto were competitive spirits.

"Damn you, Sasuke, why the hell did you **do** that? I could handle myself!" Naruto was slung over Sakura's shoulder. The pink-haired gennin grunted.

"Don't forget to support yourself a little bit, Naruto," she wasn't mad at him though. He had attempted to save her. It had just turned out that it slowed him down doing so. So, dun duna duh! Sasuke came to the rescue! Of course. But right now, all she could think about was how heavy Naruto was.

"You were in trouble, _dobe_. Just admit it. You're dead-last, and it seems you always will be," Sasuke smirked. Sakura swooned. He was SO cute.

"CUT IT OUT! DON'T CALL ME THAT, CHICKEN!" Kakashi walked a little bit ahead. He pretended not to know the kitsune.

"Then stop acting like one, _dobe_."

"Chicken!"

"Dead-last."

Sakura sighed. "Calm down, Naruto. Screaming doesn't help control your chakra."

Naruto smirked. "But don't worry, I'll take you down, Sasuke. Count on it." Sasuke smirked, but smiled slightly and looked at the kitsune out of the corner of his eyes.

"I will."

Sakura looked up at the buildings around her. They were getting smaller as she crossed into the suburbs of the town. She saw her favorite resting point. When she had been a gennin still, she had hid here when she felt weak, or incapable. Now she stayed here when she needed, simply, some time alone. She hopped up to sit on a branch.

The moon was rising. A blue moon.

"Odd," she whispered to herself. She thought about it. _I thought those only showed up in, well, once in a blue moon. Rarely, at least._

_But this is a special occasion, Sakura. _Sakura jumped, and nearly fell off her branch. Someone read her thoughts. Waitta minute. Someone was there. She whirled around, getting up into a crouch, and pulling out a kunai knife. The other person smirked.

_Why are you getting so wound up, Sakura? _Sakura gasped. A faded image of someone sat beside her.

"Sa…Sasuke-kun?" He reached out and pressed one finger against her lips, to keep her from screaming. He glared at her, though not very intensely.

_I can hear you fine when you whisper. Calm down._ Sakura nodded, biting her lip.

"But…Sasuke-kun…I thought you were…" Sasuke nodded.

_Don't avoid using the word 'dead'. It's annoying. _Sakura started smile slowly. Then, she smiled fully, and tried to hug the image of her dead teammate. She went right through him. And fell out of the tree. Sasuke watched her fall, and a smile made its way across his features. Slightly.

Later on, Sakura talked to Sasuke from the ground, with him sitting in the tree branch above her.

"You're dead…"

_No shit._

"That's not what I meant. I was trying to ask you, if you're dead, then how are you talking to me now?" She looked up at the stars. The Blue Moon was casting an eerie light across the rooftops of the town. Sasuke looked out on the town as well, thinking about his answer.

_I don't know. I guess I didn't want to. I wasn't done yet._ Sakura looked up at him.

"That can't be it, though! You were such an empty soul, after…after…" She choked on the words. Like someone had their fist shoved down her throat.

_You're avoiding the word again, aren't you?_ Sakura nodded. Then spat it out.

"After Naruto died fighting! You were empty. You wouldn't speak, listen, and in the end, that's what killed you!" Tears started to fill up her eyes. "Kakashi was only able to sneak up on you, because you were so vacant…"

_He would've been able to kill me anyways. He's that good._

"It still wouldn't have happened if you'd just gotten over him!" She regretted her words. And saying it so loud. Some lights in the houses nearby started to flick on, and she could see them through the windows. Sasuke glared out at nothingness.

…_I don't know then. _Sakura looked up. What had he said?

"Sa…suke?" He was looking at something she couldn't see, and was keeping pretty much quiet. Then he snapped.

_I don't know, damn it! He went and killed himself. And I was left to think about it. Why the hell did I get so…so pathetic, over him!" _He was looking down at one of his hands. He clenched, and unclenched his fist. He looked up, and Sakura was sitting right beside him.

"It's okay…" Her eyes shone with her tears, unshed. "I'm just glad you came. I might have ended up like you, over your death, and his." She started to cry, softly, but smiling. Sasuke looked somewhat stunned. Sakura's head started to droop, and Sasuke felt her head touch his shoulder. He formed it completely, using all of his dead chakra to try and solidify himself. He couldn't completely, but she was able to rest her head on him. Sasuke looked away, downwards. But he said nothing. Sakura mumbled slightly. He only just heard her words.

"Wh…why did you…have to...?"He knew what else she would say. She didn't need to say it. He let her cry in silence. This was a quiet moment, and he wouldn't disturb it for the world. He understood the pain of death.

For he was dead, wasn't he?

-Later on-

Sakura yawned, and got up slowly. The chuunin rubbed her eyes, and looked around. She was underneath the tree, still, but the dawning sun peeked over the Hokage Monument, and got in her eyes. They watered slightly, and she noticed suddenly that she was alone. Sakura looked around, and confirmed her suspicions. Sasuke was gone. She sat up, and held her knees to her chest.

_Well…I guess he couldn't have stayed forever. Or…" _she thought about another, more likely but less pleasant possibility. _Or maybe I was dreaming the whole time. _She stood up, slightly put out. But she still felt better. Now, she knew that Sasuke didn't want t die. Maybe that meant that he came back because of **her**. She doubted it as soon as she thought it.

She sighed. But it **did** mean that she could take out her anger on Karachi. She went to clean herself up, grab something to eat, and most importantly, find her ex-sensei.

The people who worked at Chewer recognized her, and immediately noticed that she was feeling more like herself. She had that angered look again. She hadn't since Naruto had been their to annoy her. They smiled, and served the meal, happy she was getting over the past.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter: Three  
****Author: Moi**

**Inspiration: No real inspiration this time. That would explain the lack of excitement. Laughs

* * *

**

Kakashi was sitting in the forest, on the borders of the Konoha village. Reading Icha Icha Paradise. He was sitting on a tree branch, and his bangs were falling into his eyes. He blew at them, with a puff of his breath, then sighed when the fell back down again. He leaned against the tree trunk, when he realized someone was leaning on that same trunk, on the opposite side. Glaring at him. He jumped.

"Sakura-chan. Nice to see you outside of Tsunade's office from time to time," he smiled, his eyes curving upwards to show his emotions. Sakura mocked laughing.

"Ha ha ha. I'm not always in trouble. If you were in town more often, versus in the other villages and countries, on missions, you'd know that I have an office of my own," Kakashi still smiled, chuckling to himself, and went to aim his attention at his book. Sakura hopped over onto his branch, and pulled the book down so she could see his face. She frowned. "I'm not here to discuss my life with you, no matter how insulting."

Kakashi smiled. "You seem to be in a better mood..." Sakura scowled at him, and sat down beside him. Kakashi knew better, and brought his book away from his face.

"I thought I just said…" Sakura was interrupted by her sensei.

"That you're not here to talk about your life, yes I was listening," he looked up at her. He noticed that her eyes were brighter today. The jounin made a mental note to ask who had caused that, so he could congratulate them on accomplishing what he could not. She continued, hiding her frustration at his mockery.

"Good. You understand. I'm here to talk about…someone…else's life." She said the last part a little quieter. Kakashi sighed inwardly, knowing what she was going to talk about.

_But I'm glad she's decided to share. Cooped up feelings won't do her any good. _He leaned on one palm, letting his elbow rest on his knees. He nodded, and looked at her, giving the chuunin his attention. He wasn't expecting this.

"DAMN IT, SENSEI! He didn't WANT to die!" She screamed, and hopped off. Mid-air, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi just sat there, still in the same position. He was NOT expecting that. It took him a couple of minutes to recover.

_Then…how did she know this?_

* * *

Sakura appeared again downtown. She landed softly, and walked right into Iruka, while she was brushing herself off.

"Oh, sorry Iruka-kun." She said, depicting that he was her equal. Which, actually, he was. He nodded, and smiled. Even though Naruto was gone, he had only mourned for a while, then lived life as he had before. Without as much ramen.

"Sakura! Tsunade was looking for you…again…" He kept the same tone, even though she could tell that he wanted to drawl the last word, to make it obvious that he disagreed with her getting so much…unwanted attention. She smiled up at him.

"When isn't she, I wonder? Thank you anyways, Iruka. I'll see you later, alright?" She hopped out of his way, and continued walking.

_Hmmm…something seems different. _He said. He was totally forgetting the fact that she had been mourning yesterday. Her fellow chuunin walked off. And she bumped into another person.

"Ah!" she yelped. Sakura stepped backwards, and looked up, while thinking that she **really** should watch where she's going. "Sorry, I'm not really paying attention and…oh. It's you." Kakashi looked down at her, raising one eyebrow.

"Is that any way to greet someone?" his visible eye showed amusement with her thoughtlessness. Sakura stuck out her tongue.

"For you, yes. I only just saw you a couple of minutes ago." She said, wondering how he had –

"And it took me that long to find you," he said.

"And I see why you are a jounin."

"Glad you finally did." Sakura stuck out her tongue again, and Kakashi smiled slightly. But his smile faded. He held one hand behind his head. "Sakura…We need to talk about something—"

"Ah! Tsunade! Glad to see you…er…again!" Sakura waved at no-one, but Kakashi turned around. Before he even looked back to Sakura, he sighed.

_That was stupid. _He already knew that she was gone. The jounin turned anyways, to see if he could pick up her trail. _And also…_he smiled. _She's given me an idea of where she's going now. _He hopped off, in the direction of Tsunade's office.

* * *

"Sakura. How long has it been since I last saw you?"

"Uh…this morning?"

"I **thought** it seemed a little soon," Tsunade was looking at Sakura, somewhat puzzled. Hadn't she been refusing everything this morning?

"I came about a mission, Honorable Hokage." This woke up Tsunade. She looked at her, and voiced her very thoughts.

"You only **just** refused one, Sakura-chan."

"I know."

"Then you expect to get it back, later?"

"Well…yes?"

"No."

"Damn."

Tsunade sighed. She wasn't exactly up to this, but really…she was glad that her past student was doing better. Always better for a ninja to get over their sorrows quickly. And she was Hokage. She needed to find something for Sakura to do. Other than mourn.

"Sakura-chan…here's the thing. There **are** no more missions. I gave that one to a more…enthusiastic…Chuunin. But don't worry," She smiled slightly. "There are always more jobs. Just give me a day, and I'll get you a mission." She pushed at some of the paperwork on her desk. Sakura nodded and bowed slightly, her pink hair falling in front of her face.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I will wait." She smiled, and stood back up straight again. She walked out.

And started to swear softly. People stayed out of her way as she walked down the hall.

And straight into Kakashi again.

"Ah! Geez…oh, not again." Sakura rubbed her head and looked up, already knowing who it was. There was a certain aura about him…that screamed pervert and Kakashi himself. She smiled and laughed quietly, almost as a question.

"You ran off on me," he looked at her with his one eye, into her two. She laughed softly.

"Yeah…so I did."

"Why?"

"In a rush?" Kakashi sighed at her answer. Actually…

"That was a question, not a reply." Sakura sighed, and ran her hand through her hair. She nodded, defeated.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I…" She stopped before answering. She didn't actually know what she was going to say. Kakashi did though.

"You went for a mission. Then that makes our conversation more urgent, and limited for time." He grabbed her wrist, and started to walk off hurriedly. Sakura was startled by his actions, and then got a bit frantic.

"Ah? But I didn't--!" She couldn't finish her sentence. Both Sakura and the jounin dragging her disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sakura coughed, and took her time opening her eyes.

_Something tells me I don't want this to happen._


End file.
